Becoming a Tiny Adult – Humans Are Amazing!

Holy cow, does anyone know how in the world babies are babies one day, and then little adults the next? Babies change so much so fast and it’s crazy! It all starts with the process of how babies are created and then grow, it’s so weird and amazing at the same time, isn’t it?

It is beyond fascinating that “the baby dance” leads to an actual human. I mean, these microscopic things that exist in our bodies know exactly what to do to connect and *make a human.* That’s seriously mind blowing when you think about it. Even crazier is when you think about how that new formation goes through such a specific development pattern (it’s like magic) that when checking very early ultrasounds, technicians and doctors can determine nearly to the day when the baby was created.

As the pregnancy continues, somehow their body forms, organ are created, and then babies know when to make their debut (I know nothing about that process – I developed preeclampsia, was induced and my baby was delivered at 27/6 weeks). It’s beyond incredible that once the baby is created, science/nature just knows what to do to finish creating a human (generally speaking, that is, obviously there are exceptions when things don’t happen as planned or expected).

The same kind of thing happens when the baby is born. There are milestones for when babies do certain things, and on the whole, babies really follow that path! It’s such a well-developed and predictable pattern, that we often have trouble accepting that “every baby is different” and can reach those milestones at different times (which can cause undue stress and make it challenging to accept if you compare your baby’s milestones to those of other babies).

While all of that developmental magic is happening, babies are also busy learning about everything they encounter and their personalities are forming. Babies go from these tiny new people who are dependent on you for absolutely everything and who have no way to communicate other than crying, to being walking, talking people with their own opinions. It’s the weirdest thing ever because it seems like they become tiny adults overnight. They go to bed one night and they’re babies, and then the next day, they’re perfect little people.

6 months makes a big difference!

My daughter was just going through the tiny adult transition. She can walk really well (and fast) and she’s saying some words, but since she is still young and can’t fully communicate, we don’t realize everything that she knows. Now we just ask her random things and see if she knows what we’re talking about. One day I handed her the brush and asked her if she wanted to brush her hair. She immediately started running the brush through her hair. Now she brushes her hair like Marcia Brady.

The other day my step-dad called to tell me that my daughter said the word “baby” perfectly clearly. She only knows a few words, so I thought that was surprising, and assumed she said something by chance. Still, that night I was telling my husband the story and our daughter nonchalantly said “baby.” Both of our heads snapped in her direction and asked her to say it again. She again just casually said “baby.”

She also decided recently that she doesn’t want baby food anymore. She flat out refuses to eat baby food and she loves to eat what we’re eating. The first time we ordered her a kid’s meal at a restaurant, we were cracking up. We couldn’t believe that she’s now her own person who can decide if she likes a food or not. She also has toy preferences, which is adorable.

My daughter is working on using a cup on her own… but she takes the non-traditional approach!

Her personality cracks us up. She has very clear feelings about nearly everything! She has no desire to be part of a big group of kids. She loves to play independently. She’s not shy with other kids, she just doesn’t seem compelled to be part of a group. She’d rather just play alone, which is totally cool with us because a) we’re both the same way and b) she’s going to be an only child. She’s also very analytical. When she goes to toddler classes, she could care less about learning physical skills. She’d rather look around and figure out how things in the room are put together, or she’ll decide that she wants to people watch.

She loves to laugh!

It’s so fun to watch her grow into her own person. I can’t wait until she’s really talking because I want to hear what’s happening in her head and learn why she likes or dislikes certain things. She’s my favorite person in the world and I love to watch her grow and learn because I’m so amazed about how humans are created. We develop in such a specific way in those early stages, but the further we get from the womb and further into the “outside” world, the more differences start to occur. Life is so cool!

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About Stephanie Feals

Stephanie is an only child, married to an only child, raising an only child! Stephanie and her husband (Brian) are Pittsburghers at heart, but made the move to Charleston in ’08 after moving around the country. Stephanie has a background in television, and has a (not so secret) dream to start a talk show and to publish books. She’s currently working on her first book and recently started a blog, called Speaking of Today (https://speakingoftoday.com), with her friend and fellow mom Dawn.
Stephanie loves to spend every spare second with her daughter Kennedy. Kennedy was born 12 weeks early and spent the full 12 weeks in the hospital. Thankfully Kennedy is totally healthy, but the experience of being a preemie mom certainly changed Stephanie’s life! She looks forward to sharing stories of mommyhood with the Charleston Moms Blog readers.